Chapter 18 – Fragments and Mec chen House (cont.)

The message repeated at this point. Jamie cracked her neck, audibly so. I figured now was the time to ask since we weren’t going anywhere for a while.

“Tell me the rest of your vision.”

“You still on that? I told you all the critical details.”

The train lurched forward slowly.

“All I know for certain is you met a cat with weird fur and a crooked tail and went to a particular residence, formerly owned by the Ishidas, which is now Carolyn’s barbershop.”

“That should be enough.”

“I told you everything that happened in my vision.” I folded my arms in my lap.

“Everything?”

“Pretty much.”

The train lurched to a stop again.

It didn’t take long for Jamie to cave. “Fine…” She set her fists on either side of her chin. That looked quite cute.

“I was in one of those simple roll-out beds we used our first night at Mecchen House. I stood up slowly. I was male again. I didn’t have any control over what I did. I could just watch. The house I was in looked pretty old but well cared for. It looked almost… real. For a second. It didn’t even seem drawn or cartoon or whatever the deal is with this place.

“I walked around ‘till I came to a kitchen. That was when I saw the cat. Those two parents of Ms. Ishida you talked about were at the table. They welcomed me. I talked in such a girly way. Blegh. Well, I saw you and Nathan. You were both male too. That girl Hitomi was clinging to you. I didn’t really pay attention to her. I did some stuff around you. Then, we ate.”

“What do you mean ‘did some stuff?’”

Jamie seemed quite embarrassed. “Stuff. Like holding hands, giving you a kiss on the cheek, and giggling over something. It was so stupid. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop it. Hitomi looked a little left out, but Nathan talked with her. Hitomi briefly mentioned something about ‘sisters’. I didn’t listen for long because I had to take the trash out.

“I visited the neighbor after that. The neighbor had this spry, medium-sized dog. I don’t know the breed, but it was a brown short-hair. It ran all over the area. It liked me. It tried to leap at me. I spoke a little with the neighbor, about how they were today, other little things. All the while, I got this feeling for him… which… umm… can I not talk about the specifics? It was just, you know… embarrassing feelings for another guy. He didn’t say anything weird.” Jamie wrapped her arms around her stomach.

She finished by saying, “Then everything froze up. Things got trippy. A storm blew in, and it was very windy. It rained too. Lightning zapped in the sky. I had control of my body back. I ran under some cover. But everything around me started to melt, like a wet painting. It all ran together. And it flowed like sludge around my ankles and began to surround me. At that point, I awoke in the barbershop and you know the rest.”

I narrowed my eyes at Jamie. “Why didn’t you tell me about that last part before?”

“I told you now. And, besides, does adding that help you understand it any more?”

“I can’t say for sure. Is that all now? No talks with Hitomi?”

“That’s all.”

Jamie fixed a few loose pins in her hair and slipped errant locks over her ears.

“Why did you keep it a secret?”

Her arms went slack and she stared at me. I didn’t get an answer.

I took a guess.

“This is about what I did, isn’t it?”

“Why do you say that?”

The train moved again, slowly building speed.

“If you don’t like for me to keep secrets then why did you keep as many as I did, if not more?”

“Because you’re not the center of the universe. I don’t have to tell you every little thing I experience. Got that?”

She turned as far away from me as she could without moving from her seat.

“Got it,” I answered.

The train made several more stops and starts, turning onto a side spur of track.

The recording apologized again and gave updated times of delay. It started at thirty minutes. I turned to look through the window behind me. I could see a bit of the sea. The sun was past the mid-point. The trees still flowed in the wind. I could hear a faint whistle through the glass.

The crackle of the electrical line above and the ambling of passengers became like white noise.

Eventually, Jamie had to speak.

“I’m bored. Why are we even on this train?”

“Nina", I reminded her.

“Ah. Well, I really hope she’s worth it.”

“Dunno.”

Jamie sighed. “What?”

I said nothing.

She kept the conversation going.

“Listen. Alright… I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean to pry or anything by asking. We need to figure things out. It’s just… seeing you and Hitomi together then… I held back. I watched.”

My mouth felt slack.

“You… thought I was… involved?”

“Events felt suspicious to me every once in a while. And especially with how… umm, with the way I can react to you, I needed to test things.”

“And?” I wondered just how long she’d been suspicious of me.

“I tested it. I still think that Nana is the most-likely one involved. And that’s that.”

I brushed my hair back. “Well, that’s good.”

It didn’t take long for Jamie to reiterate, “I’m bored.” She added, “Can we play something? Remember we used to play word-association a few times when the power went out?”

I recalled it vaguely.

I started off the game.

“Hand.”

“Glow.”

“Glow?”

Jamie stuck her tongue out at me. “You have to say a different word, remember?”

“I mean, why that word?”

She shrugged. “Just keep it going.”

I considered my reply. “Light.”

“Dark.”

“Pain.”

“Bra.” Jamie expelled the word from her mouth like a curse.

“Lace.”

“Ami.”

“Why Ami?”

“Do you want to play or not?”

“…Pink.”

“Blossoms.”

I would’ve answered the same.

“Trees.”

“Path.”

“Stroll.”

“Run.”

“Go.”

“Arrive.”

“Meet.”

“Join.”

The train picked up speed.

I pondered it for a moment before answering, “Invited.”

“Group.”

“Close.”

“Kinship.”

I thought I heard someone whisper over my shoulder. I looked and it was just the cool whistle of blowing wind through the crack in the window.

I said, “Sisters.”

The sound through the window vanished. The trees outside steadied themselves, and the train moved faster.

Jamie answered immediately. “Annoying.”

I gave her a look but answered, “Secrets.”

“Deception.”

“Truth.”

“Warmth.”

“Hope…”

The train shuddered to a stop. I looked out. We were at a station. The recorded message said this was ‘Manako’. Reluctantly, we got off at this stop and checked the transit map near the ticket counter.

Fortunately for us, Nasuka wasn’t far from our location. We decided to go on foot.

-----

It was hillier here. Small farms with rice fields clustered between stretches of dark-green trees and houses. The roads were fewer, smaller, and seemed lightly-traveled. The homes were larger and older-looking. One even resembled a bathhouse. We passed a fruit stand with a soda machine and some little kids running around out front. I gave them a smile and they waved to us.

The road widened and came to a Y-intersection with businesses at all points. I could smell incense burning from one. A sign labeled, “Azako High School”, pointed us to the right. It wasn’t hard to figure out which was Azako. It was the tallest building in the area.

The building itself was a mix of silver and black. The road leading to it was tiled in a seashell pattern. The school had twin four-story buildings with a two-story junction in the middle. The fence all around it was low and grayish but spiked. Rounded bushes presented a secondary defense. At what seemed to be the front of the complex, the wall turned brick with a massive front gate on a wheel. Long benches covered this area. And the gate was open.

Inside was a small courtyard area with a trickling fountain and a few sculptures. I found it really pleasant. I had a flash of a technical college I’d toured once. It didn’t even approach the beauty of this place.

Jamie gave a look around and back at me. “Do you think they have an office?”

That sounded like a good idea. Better than wandering around hoping we’d run into Nina.

“If they do, what should we say?”

Jamie looked at the front of the central complex. “Well, it’s four… Sheesh, it took a while to get here. Do you think they’re even still here?”

“In animes, Japanese schools seem to go well into the evening.”

“Lame… Well, then I’m sure there’s someone around to help.”

We tried the double doors at the front. I noticed lockers with colored slippers off to the side. They had an area for guests to store their shoes.

Jamie lamented, “Again with leaving my shoes behind…”

I held up a pink slipper. Jamie responded only, “No.”

She picked up one of the blue ones instead, despite the fact she wasn’t fooling anyone as to her gender. I slipped the pink pair on. They felt more comfortable anyway.

We walked into the left building first. Students milled around. The men’s uniform seemed to be all-brown with a dark-blue tie.

The students were cleaning. A girl with short, reddish hair pushed a broom across the floor. I explained to Jamie that students in Japan routinely cleaned the school after class.

She blinked. “You mean they’re so cheap they can’t even hire janitors? Very lame.”

“It’s just what they do in Japan.”

“But this isn’t really Japan…”

We tried asking the girl with hair like Keiko’s, only lighter, about where to find the office. She was wiping a window.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

She smiled at us.

I explained, “We’re looking for someone who goes to this school.”

She nodded but then frowned. “Hmm… well. School records are really protected and since class ended who you’re looking for is probably just around cleaning somewhere or at their club. Are you friends of theirs?”

“You could say that. We’ve met. We just need to talk. Her name is… Nina Metora. Or Metora Nina.”

It suddenly struck me that Metora had to be Nina’s surname and yet, when we were first introduced, she spoke it like we did. I made a note to ask Nina about it when we found her.

The girl pondered a bit, “Her name isn’t one I know. Do you know what groups she’s in?”

Unfortunately, we didn’t. But I stated, “I know one of her friends.”

The girl didn’t know Katsumi either, but I remembered that one of Katsumi’s groups was tea ceremony. The girl knew where they met and that they were meeting right around now. She said we could find them in the annex building at the far end of campus. We’d have to go down the hall and out to the right, past the track field, and the swimming pool. Then, past the theater complex, the tennis courts, and archery range. Once we passed all that, she assured us, we would find the annex.

“Look for cute stuff,” she advised us.

It sounded pretty simple to me. Jamie walked slowly, rubbing her forehead. “I’m so sick of walking. Walking just leads to more walking. Walking is what started all this in the first place. Clearly, it is the root of all evil.”

I gave a wry grin which she didn’t seem to appreciate. One of the classroom doors was open. I saw a club meeting inside. I didn’t recognize anyone in it.

At the turn in the hall, I saw another open classroom. Podiums were set up. I recognized the girl at the podium in front. It was Mami. I stopped a moment. She looked really into her speech. I couldn’t hear the context of it at this distance. She smoldered with emotion. She pointed a finger out at a crowd I couldn’t see.

We walked on and out of the building. A walkway rounded a small stadium in the back with a clay track. Despite the fact it was a detour, I had to look closer at the track-and-field area. I was glad I did.

It didn’t take long to spot Miki in gym clothes standing on one of the lines. Someone yelled, and she took off with dogged determination around the track. She ran with impressive stamina. No wonder she was such a challenge for Nathan.

She didn’t slow up until she’d made a full circuit. Miki panted and leaned on her knees a moment before straightening up. I clapped a little to myself. Jamie watched the whole race too.

We slipped away without being noticed.

The swimming pool looked just as impressive. Scores of anime girls in navy-blue outfits stood around and laughed to themselves. I was captivated by the scene, but Jamie seemed anxious to move along. Her eyes didn’t linger long on the girls.

The tennis courts were fenced-in and also clay. I could see the vibrant colors of the archery range and I didn’t have to look far to see another familiar face. Reiko stood with a bow nearly as big as her.

She had on a white, loose top with short sleeves. She also wore what seemed to be a long skirt. It stretched from her waist to the floor with only her sock-covered feet, set apart, showing at either end.

Reiko had an arrow drawn. She peered ahead and trembled to hold it. The bow raised and lowered in her grasp. It seemed she wasn’t sure about her aim. The bow wavered back and forth. She let it fall. Reiko shut her eyes and took a few deep, slow breaths. I wondered what flustered her, but Jamie was eager to move on.

The annex was small, two-stories with an older design than the rest of the complex. I opened the door for Jamie. She froze in place. Before the door, there stood Nana.

She had the innards of a computer cradled in her arms like a baby. It reached out tendril-like wires which wrapped around her wrists like bracelets. She wore a pair of headphones around her neck with its own system of wires. Despite all this around her, she felt like a vacuum, a calm and steady nothingness. It wasn’t the sort of nothingness I’d glimpsed in Ami the other day, but rather a confined space stretching out in all directions.

She bowed automatically to us and said, “The final encounter will be soon. Thank you for your kindness.”

She left with her electronics clinging to her. Had we not been in a hurry to find Nina, I would’ve questioned her about that statement and others she’d made. I wanted to say something polite with the ‘kindness’ statement, but she seemed eager to get wherever she was going with that equipment.

Jamie made no effort to speak to her. And so, the moment passed.

We walked past a room covered in stoves and counters. I didn’t see anyone I knew, but the little hairs on the back of my neck somehow sensed that Sumi was near. I certainly didn’t want to meet up with her right then. Katsumi was bad enough.

I also saw a sketched sign on one door advertising the “Anime and Manga Club”. I suspected from the vibrant noise within that Tara was present.

But we walked on until it was clear we were deep in feminine territory. The walls were a pale pink with floral designs. The floor was specially padded. There was an aroma in the air of light perfume mixed with lavender. Live plants and flowers in pots sat along the sides with ribbons tied to them.

I didn’t say anything to Jamie about it. We stepped carefully around the pillows, cushions, and stuffed animals on the floor.

We came to the last door in the building before the stairs to the second floor. The door was marked “Tea Ceremony Club.” I knocked three times slowly. The girl who opened the door was Nina herself.

She stood with blue ribbons in her hair, wearing a dark-blue kimono with lovely stitching on the front. She bowed and turned to lead us inside. The back of her kimono featured a pattern of the moon with several white rabbits in a forest, leaping towards the sky.

All the floors were tatami. Scrolls hung on the walls. One depicted a vast field of snow.

[https://i.imgur.com/hnIWm9y.png]

[This is one of my favorite artworks of Katsumi by HandofMidaz]

Katsumi sat in the center of the room in a gray kimono. A kettle lay before her. She had a series of intricate items around her. Most of them seemed to be made of bamboo. A few other girls sat around her at what looked to be specific points. They all looked up at us.

Katsumi spoke first. Her narrowed eyes lingered on Jamie’s chest then darted over to mine. I blushed involuntarily.

“I assume you both are wearing bras…”

“Are you?” Jamie asked, with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Put down your hands! You’re a girl. Be proud of your figure. Or else…”

“Or else… what?”

“There is a saying... 'Those who want something gone will only end up getting it three-fold upon them’.”

Jamie glanced down at her chest. Despite that, her arms didn’t budge.

I told her, “We’re here to talk to Nina.”

Everyone looked at Nina, who had snuck into a corner since leading us in. She didn’t look pleased by the attention. There were three other girls; a blond, a small brunette, and one with long, orange hair.

“About?” Katsumi sliced her eyes back and forth between Nina and us.

“Confidential girl chat stuff,” I noted.

Katsumi narrowed her eyes and hissed, “Lousy answer…”

“You used it yourself.”

She took a few breaths and peered at Nina. She let a long breath out.

“Then talk. But anyone who enters must dress in a kimono and observe proper tea ceremony etiquette.” She launched an arm straight in the direction of one of the closets. The sleeve of her kimono shook. “Inside you will find a variety of feminine kimonos. You will each wear one and sit on the mat over here, next to one another. You will sit upright in the correct way. Not cross-legged. That’s the boyish way and you’ll never be boys ever again. The way I’m sitting is correct.” A trio of girls we’d never met looked perplexed. They watched us.

Katsumi gestured to herself.

She had her legs underneath her with her feet flat against the tatami mat. Her knees were together. She sat on her legs with her back straight. I didn’t know much about tea ceremonies, but it looked like she was doing everything right.

The blond girl suddenly asked, with a finger to her mouth, “Say, K-chan, are these the ones you talked about during lunch after Mami left? The former boys at your place?”

Katsumi gave a light nod and the three burst up and surrounded us. They chattered all around. They stared and leaned close. The one with orange locks gave me a shoulder poke and asked, “Did you both really used to be guys?”

We both returned a nod.

They asked us many questions, as would be expected.

“How different did ‘it’ feel from what you feel now?”

“How tall were you?”

“Do you have a boyfriend yet? Did you have a boyfriend before?”

Jamie blanched when asked that.

Their questions merged and overlapped ‘till Katsumi made a high noise through her closed mouth and brought some semblance of order back.

“We are still practicing a tea ceremony here…”

The blond frowned and huffed, “Can’t we take a breather? The cultural fest is still a long time off. We just started. We don’t need to know everything so soon. We’ll just forget.”

Katsumi grumbled but nodded. “Meanwhile, those two need the proper attire.”

Jamie glared. “We’re not even staying long. We just need to talk to Nina, then we’re going.”

“If you don’t put them on then I’ll make you wear them tonight when I get back, and I’ll add makeup and a lot of other stuff to make you both really pretty.”

The orange-haired girl spaced out with a blush on her cheeks.